Some five years ago I told Andy of
my dream to bicycle "around the world" for two years. I
think the idea came to me after an especially long and rewarding
bike ride and I was still probably high on endorphins. Even so
the idea immediately struck a chord with Andrew who most
vigorously advocated it.

Despite his enthusiasm, he never
really believed that I would give up career and comfort to do it.
I never doubted my resolve, except when cashing big Silicon
Valley paychecks. So finally I disfigured myself in order to make
sure I didnt forget the promise. (Years ago I tattooed four
geckos on my upper left arm, two to represent my years in the
states getting ready for the trip, and two to represent the two
years on the road.)

O.K. so we went a little over
budget on the time in the States getting ready, it had been
nearly three years. In the back of my mind I hope we go overboard
on the trip as well. We should have started in 1996 in May. But
the delay gave Andrew the time to make a baby with a friend in
NYC. My accomplishments were far less significant, but I did find
a good juncture at which to end my long and sometimes rewarding
career.

Now we both appreciate the freedom
of biking these 24 months. Just a few weeks before the start of
the trip there were a number of nagging doubts despite our
numerous other bicycle trips together (see Past Voyages Photo
Galleries.) Can we really
ride our bikes this far? Is it going to be a drag to carry all
that stuff? How will my hair look after a day of riding? More
importantly: will we kill one another if we spend that much time
together? The test we planned was riding for several weeks in the
Mexico and Cuba. It turned out to be a great and wonderful
adventure and a perfect prelude to more serious travel. (see Belize, Mexico and
Cuba Triplogues and Photo Galleries).

Now the odyssey of our lifetime
lies before us and the first year is well mapped out by Andrew.
(He is responsible for the logistics of our journey, while true
to my geeky past, and avoiding my geographical impairment, I look
after the technical details of the trip.) We took a
well-established route across the states through the southern
states making our way from San Diego, California to St.
Augustine, Florida (California to Florida). We'd hoped to find some southern
hospitality and avoid hostility where possible. This leg of our
journey may be the most savage and trying of the two years. Open
space and lack of civilization were our biggest obstacles. (See
route maps)

From Florida we began once again
in Europe. (No, we did not bike across the Atlantic. This is not
a purists trip; we will bike, boat, fly and even resort to
motorized ground transport when necessary, except in the US where
we rode from shore to shore.) The concept coined by Andrew was
"Casablanca to Cairo via Helsinki" or "Africa to
the Arctic and Back". As we found ourselves about two weeks
behind schedule and facing other hardships, we made the trip less
ambitious and surely less poetic. Poetry is beautiful but
practicality is the god we both pray to as we plan our routes.
Practicality colored by whim, an odyssey of this magnitude must
be sprinkled with a little frivolity.

Next destinations will be in the
southern hemisphere. With much of 1998 to be spent in Asia. None
of the route is planned to any detail at this time, but we plan
to pass through Australia, Indonesia, parts of Indochina, India,
Sri Lanka, etc.

Plan is the operative word, from
our past voyages weve learned that flexibility is the
difference between a hellish trip and a fantastic adventure. One
of the things in flux is whether we will remain traveling
together throughout the trip. For the moment we have completed
the US transcontinental, European and Middle Eastern parts of the
journey and plan to ride together as long as it make sense to
both of us.

One of our hopes is to have
friends, family and others join us for segments of the journey.
Friends and interested parties will be able to track our progress
and check our schedule by referring to this web site. "Where
are they now" will most oftenhave estimated dates of where
we will be and when, and anyone will be able to e-mail us so we
can coordinate a rendezvous.

Thanks for stopping by and
checking out the details of our trip, e-mail us or we'll see you
on the road!